


The Murderous Castle

by clementimeidk



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Blood, Drowning, M/M, Poisoning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-08
Updated: 2018-11-07
Packaged: 2019-08-20 12:29:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16555787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clementimeidk/pseuds/clementimeidk
Summary: The Castle is out to kill Lance, and Keith is their every time to stop it. But can he be there every time, will he be too late?





	1. Pizza Goo

It was just a normal day at the castle, until it wasn't. The team was eating together, relishing the the invention of pizza flavored goo that Pidge and Hunk had programmed into the food dispenser. Keith was skeptical, but Allura, never having eaten pizza in her long life, was nearly jumping for joy.   
¨I admit, this, pizza, thing is very good, but really i prefer Ertio nuggets. Oh, my mother used to feed them to me, and i would scream in my little chair in delight. Ahhhhh, memories.¨ said Coran. Lance was scarfing his down. It had been a while since Lance had felt anything familiar to Earth culture. Eating the gooified version of pizza meant more to Lance than any of the other Paladins could imagine.Keith glared at Lance chowing down on his now third helping of the food. He didn't care for his teammate´s neanderthalic way of eating, like he hadn't eaten in weeks.Lance noticed Keith´ś brooding.  
¨What Keith¨ Lance squealed with his mouth full, getting the goo and Keith´s face. Keith flicked it away in disgust and shot back  
¨That's gross Lance, didn't your mom ever teach you manners.¨ Lance kept his eyes on Keith, and Keith could see the hurt in his eyes.Just before he could apologize, Lance stood up and said  
¨I´ve lost my appetite¨ and sulked out of the room. With a glare from Shiro, Keith got up and followed.  
¨Lance, I'm sorry, i shouldn't have said that¨ Lance didn't even look back. Keith followed him back to his room, where he got his foot in the door just before Lance closed it on him.  
¨Lance come on, Iḿ sorry, can you at least look at me.¨ Lance turned back towards him, silent, but fighting to hold back tears. He slowly composed himself, and sat himself down in a huff.Keith´s anger flared as Lance would not even accept his apology. As much as he loved Lance, he could be so childish.  
¨Fine be that way!¨ he shouted, getting no reaction.Keith stormed out and headed who knows where.

Lance felt bad about ignoring Keith´s apology, but he was honestly hurt.He would go to him once he calmed down, but in the way that Keith had gotten mad, he knew he had to go to him now. He went out of his room and followed the sound of Keith´s footsteps. Once he saw Keith, he felt something in his chest.He felt the feeling getting stronger, and turning into pain.Shit, he thought, as he tried to call out to Keith. Upon hearing his name, Keith was surprised, but still pretty pissed over Lance´s pettiness.He heard his name again, this time with more urgency, but he still did not want to indulge in Lance´s idiocy. Lance was starting to panic as his body was screaming at him. One more time he cried out  
¨Keith¨At the top of his lungs he screamed, praying that Keith would get over himself.  
¨What Lance¨ Keith said finally turning around in annoyance. He saw Lance´s face, pain stricken and desperate, seeming to choke on his words.   
¨Lance?¨ he asked, hesitant to go any closer. He watched as Lance collapsed on the ground, writhing in pain. Keith bolted over to him, desperately trying to calm down his shaking. Lance was flinging himself all over the place, choking on the foam that was coming out of his mouth.  
¨Holy shit, Lance, what did you do!¨ Keith screamed, not knowing what the heck had happened. It was like he was poisoned. The realization came to Keith as he ran into the infirmary which was conveniently right next to him. He opened and closed the drawers with a bang, until he found an antivenom, and inserted it into a syringe. When he returned back to Lance, he had stopped shaking, his eyes rolled back into his head, his chest rising spastically and shallow. Kith dug the needle into where he thought Lance´s heart would be. He stepped back, panting and waiting for Lance to wake. As the horror set in that Lance´s chest had stopped moving, he held onto his shirt crying.  
¨Lance come on please, i can't lose you. Please come back. We need you, I…...I n-need you¨ Keith held his friend in his arm, pressing his head into Lance´s , weeping.


	2. What death feels like

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance is ok, big surprise

Lance felt like he was being dragged down, pressure building as he tried to fight for his life. He was being pounded down into the floor, but he was clawing at the cracks his body made, holding on.With on final jolt, he was pulled through the floor, into an endless void. Lance screamed, but made no noise, as he fought to get back. He thought back to the way Keith´s expression had changed when he saw him fall to the ground. He would not let Keith see him die. He knew what that would do to him, he didn't want to break him even further. His friends had hinted that Keith had liked him. Lance had no clue how he felt, so he decided to ignore it until he had figured out his own emotions. But as he was stuck in the void, he realized that he had loved Keith, he always had.He could feel a pull, a current bringing him back to the surface. He grabbed on and rode it till he felt water on his face. He gasped at seeing Keith´s face so close, and so grief stricken. Keith couldn´t believe it, and he sat their, completely in shock as Lance´s once dead body had came back to life, desperately trying to breath through the foam in his mouth. When Lance finally started puking on the floor, Keith snapped out of his daze and helped Lance into a better position. When Lance was done, he looked up at Keith and his red puffy eyes.  
¨Holy Shit Lance, wtf just happened?¨Keith asked, completely exasperated. When he was holding Lance, not expecting him to come back, a part of him broke.Lance had died before he could tell him how much he meant to him.Now that he had come back to him, he would not let another day go before he told Lance that he loved him.  
¨It´s ok Keith, its ok, Im ok. Everything is fine¨ Lance said, which resulted in Keith putting his pride aside and hugging Lance, balling his eyes out.  
¨I thought, i thought i would never see you again,¨Keith cried in between sniffles ,composing himself a bit, Keith said, still trembling,  
¨ I need to tell you Lance, that ….I….. I l-love you!¨”Keith said, visably lowering his expectations of Lance´s answer.Lance looked at him with a grin on his face, this was not what Keith had expected. Lance was so flirtatious that Keith could never figure out when he was being serious.  
¨I love you too Mullet¨ Lance said, finally breaking the silence, and making Keith's heart skip a beat.Keith was dumbstruck, in his normal Keith fashion he started sputtering a bunch of nonsense, just as the rest of the paladins burst into the room. They all looked down at the rare sight of Keith and Lance actually getting along. Shiro finally broke the silence  
¨Lance, Keith, what happened?¨ he asked in his signature dad voice. Keith stuttered before finally saying  
¨I have no idea, he just collapsed and started thrashing. It was like he was poisoned¨ Shiro looked worriedly at Lance, who proceeded to tell the rest of the story, since Keith was too in shock to say anything.  
¨I didn't want to talk to Keith since i knew i would say something i would regret, so i ignored him and he got all mad. I went after him and that's when it all got weird. My chest started burning and i tried to call to him but he didn't turn around till the third time. The rest is a bit blurry, but i remember being dragged down, and i remember dying.¨ At this Hunk chimed in  
¨Wait WHAT!!!!¨ he screamed and ran next to Lance, nearly pushing Keith over.   
¨But i guess Keith must have done something cause i was back, and obviously I'm perfectly fine.Hunk turned to Keith asking  
¨How did you…..¨ before he could finish Keith responded, so wanting to hear the words¨bring him back¨.   
¨I found some antivenom and i injected him with it.But he…… he didn't wake up for a bit¨ Keith said, fighting back tears.Hunk stared at this sudden burst of emotion from normally distant Keith.  
¨Thank you¨ Hunk said before standing up again. Lance hadn't realized just how long he was out for.   
¨I´m so sorry you had to see that Keith¨ Lance said¨ I really tried to come back, I didn't want to hurt you, but i wouldn't have had a chance if you hadn't stepped in.¨ Keith looked at him with tears once again forming in his eyes.  
¨it's ok¨ Keith said meekly, his voice smaller than anyone had ever heard. Pidge broke the silence by yelling  
¨well, we should probably leave you lovebirds alone¨ She dragged Hunk out of the room, and Shiro left soon after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is one of my favorites sooooooo, have fun


	3. More stuff goes wrong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> you guessed it, more near death experiences!

It had been a week since the whole incident, but everyone was still confused on how only Lance was affected by the pizza goo.Keith had tried to let go of his worry, but it still sat in the back of his mind, how helpless he had felt. Lance had been as good as new within days, as he and Keith tried to figure out the mess that was their relationship. Keith wanted to be his boyfriend. He wanted to fall asleep in his arms every night. He wanted to feel the comfort of knowing that Lance would always be there for him. But when he tried to express this to Lance, all that came out was a mumble, followed by apologies and neverminds. Lance on the other hand, wasn't really sure what he wanted. He had just figured out his feelings and now deciding about his possible future was a bit too much. Lance wasn't feeling pressured from Keith at all, Keith had been perfect through this whole situation. Lance was pressuring himself to just make a decision and to stop torturing Keith. And this just made Lance confused, as the argument inside his head was stopping him from actually making progress.He walked over to where Keith was sitting, making himself comfortable in his arms. If Lance was going to figure anything out, he needed to test the waters. And this gave Lance a great idea. Keith was just sitting by himself, daydreaming of Lance, when suddenly, like out of dream, Lance came over and leaned against his chest, curling up comfortably.It took Keith a second to realize that he wasn't dreaming, as he look down at Lance, who in turn looked up at him.  
¨Hey Keith, wanna go swimming?¨ Lance asked, a childlike joy spreading across his face. Him and Lace, swimming, in bathing suits, together, alone. This was literally perfect.  
¨Yeah yeah, sure, let me just change and we can head right over¨ he said. Mission success! Lance sprinted off to go get into his swim trunks, and headed over to the pool. 

Lance was waiting with a smile on his face when Keith got there. It put Kieth off guard, but he quickly regained his composure. He was beyond surprised that Lance had not tried to make any bad puns, since it was the first time they had seen each other without shirts on. Keith blushed as he caught himself staring at lance , thankfully before Lance noticed and pointed it out to him.The second the elevator door opened, Lance ran out and jumped into the pool. He beckoned for Keith to join him. Keith took his time, carefully lowering himself in. Once he got in, Lance splashed him and swam away teasingly.  
¨Oh, it is on¨ Keith said with a smirk, as he swam off to go get Lance.Keith tackled him, only to get pinned down against the bottom of the shallow end. He cackled as Keith took a second to catch his breath.   
¨Ok ok, i get it, you're a better swimmer.¨ Keith said, laughing all the while.  
¨Did i just hear Keith Kogane admit that I was better than him. DO MY EARS DECEIVE ME? ¨ Lance yelled, barely controlling his laughter. Keith answered his question by splashing him in the face again.   
¨Hey, lets go check out the diving board. ¨ Keith said, noticing the diving board over the deep end.   
¨yeah sure¨ Lance responded, already getting out of the pool. The diving board had buttons on the side that controlled the height and the length of the board.Lance of course , raised the board as high as it would go, before Keith starting putting it back down. Lance complained, but Keith would not let Lance get any higher than he was. Admitting defeat, Lance jumped off, flipping twice before flying gracefully into the water with almost no splash.Keith watched in amazement, as Lance got out of the water with grace.  
¨yeah, I'm kinda amazing at diving too.¨ Lance said, watching and enjoying the disbelief in Keith´s expression. Lance watched as Keith lowered the board down and jumped cautiously into the water. Keith didn't realize how deep the water was, and the jump propelled him all the way down. He looked all around, enjoying the moment, not caring about when he needed to come up. Lance didn't know what was going on. Keith had been under for a bit, and didn't look like he ever wanted to come up. Lance pushed off the side and rocketed over towards Keith. Keith stared at Lance, wondering why he was coming. Than he realized the burning in his lungs and panicked , breathing in the cold water. Lance reached him, his eyes wide with fear. He grabbed Keith, making him gulp down more water, pushing spots into his vision. Lance kept eye contact with Keith as he started swimming towards the surface. He saw Keith´s eyes stop looking at him, wandering in their sockets, not knowing what to do. When Lance finally got to the surface, he pushed Keith above him and threw him onto the side. He jumped out of the pool and onto his side. Keith looked confused, not knowing if he was still underwater.  
¨Shit¨ Lance said, feeling for a pulse. He was still alive, but he wouldn't be if he didn't starts breathing.Lance pushed against Keith´s bare chest, hoping to get some of the water out. He then put their lips together and started breathing into him. When he released, Keith burst up, coughing out all the water he had breathed in. Before Keith could even speak , Lance screamed at him.   
¨What was that Keith, why the hell did u not come up?U can´t stay underwater you bozo. Your and idiot, you are such an idiot¨ he was fuming, and Keith felt horrible. He just got lost in the way the water reminded him of Lance, and how he felt so relaxed.   
¨Iḿ sorry¨ he squeaked out, avoiding Lance´s hard gaze. Lance broke, realizing how bad he was making Keith feel.   
¨It's ok, just please, please don't scare me like that again.¨ Lance said, forcing Keith to look at him. Lance went in to hug Keith, stopping to get his permission. Once given , the two hugged, making Keith feel warm again, and cooling Lance down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you haven´t noticed by now, this is literally all i write. This is the only outlet for my morbid mind ;)


	4. Yet more shit happens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> haha, I really can´t stop myself.

They went to the pool the next day, and the day after that. Lance had wanted to show Keith some of his diving tricks, but Keith insisted that they do it tomorrow because he saw that Lance´s lips had gotten blue, and he was shivering though he didn't want to admit it.When they got to the pool, Lance ran off, showing Keith one of his dives that he had won a competition with. After Keith took a turn, Lance got up on the board. He set the boar to about the middle of its height range, and jumped up and down, freaking Keith out. Lance reassured him that he had done this many times before, but Keith was still weary. After a few jumps, the board adjusted itself and raced up to its highest setting, throwing Lance off, almost sending him tumbling. Before Keith could yell up a warning, the board jolted back, sending Lance down, legs flailing and screaming. Just as he was about to hit the water, the board reached over to where Lance was, and slammed his head into the water.   
¨Lance¨ Keith screamed, rushing to the side of the pool where Lance was sinking down. It was like the board was trying to kill him. Keith dove into the water, not waiting to find out if the diving board had succeeded. Lance´s head was bleeding, leaving a red smear above him as he sunk down.Keith grabbed him and shot up, dragging Lance over to the shallow end. Keith looked at the deep cut in his head.  
¨Shit¨ he said out loud. Lance was breathing, and semi conscious despite everything.  
¨How the hell did u stay down their so long?¨ Keith said, amazed that Lance had lasted without oxygen longer than he had, especially while losing blood.   
¨I've been in the water my whole life,¨ Lance explained, groggily  
¨I could have stayed another 5 minutes if I wasn't bleeding so bad¨ Keith did not believe a word of it, and swiftly lifted him out of the water. He carried him to the infirmary, trying not to notice the trail of blood he was leaving behind them.   
¨I like unicoooooornssss¨ Lance said like he was dreaming.  
¨That's great, just keep talking to me ok, you´re gonna be fine¨ Keith said, more to himself than to Lance.He finally got Lance into a cryo pod, relieved that he had still been talking to him. Shiro had seen the blood, and ran into the infirmary.  
¨Keith, what happened?”Shiro said, barely keeping his cool after seeing the amount of blood on the floor. Keith had to think to remember what had happened, it didn't seem real.  
¨We were going off the diving board, and the board sorta malfunctioned.It made him fall off, and than slammed down on his head, ergo, the blood. ¨ Keith was keeping his cool, which surprised him because his initial response had been to freak out.  
¨I was like the board was trying to kill him, it targeted him.¨ Keith added.   
¨I'll go tell Coran and Allura, just stay with him.¨ Keith nodded in agreement and Shiro raced off. He stared into the pod, examining the progress being made. Keith knew in his heart that Lance would be okay, and this was later confirmed by Coran. Keith had stayed the night next to the pod, with coran by his side, who had already fell asleep. They hand't told Pidge or Hunk, not wanting to worry them. Keith stood still, mesmerized by its glow. He looked at Lance, and his calm features. Keith enjoyed seeing him sleep, he had always wanted to fall asleep next to him, but under better circumstances. Just before Keith was about to doze off, the pod made a weird sound. All the sudden, Lance opened his eyes, completely unaware of what was going on. But if Lance was awake, shouldn't the pod be opening? Keith woke up Coran, showing him the pod. Without warning, Lance started pounding on the doors, in obvious struggle.  
¨Lance, Lance what's going on?¨Keith asked, his adrenaline pumping. Coran read the Altean on the pod and gasped  
¨Their´s no oxygen in their, he's suffocating¨Keith eyes widen, and he tried to pull open the door while Coran pushed some buttons. He saw as Lance stop pounding as he slowly sunk back down.   
¨ Lance, Lance, hold on, we´ll get you out!¨ Keith said, clawing a the door.  
¨NO NONONONONONO¨ he screamed as Lance slumped back and closed his eyes.  
¨I can't get it open¨ Coran yelled, not even matching Keith´s state of panic.   
¨Oh , fuck it¨ Keith said as he took out his sword and slashed away at the pod, prying the door open. Coran quickly grabbed him and put him on the floor, feeling for a pulse. ¨Keith, he ummm, their´s no pulse¨ Coran stated, wincing at the face that Keith made. Keith fell to his knees, and grabbed Lance  
¨No, you have to be okay, you can't just leave. You said…. You said you wouldn't do this to me again!¨ Keith pressed up and down on his chest, and breathing into him. Every time he repeated it, he started breathing heavier and heavier. He screamed and cried, his face contorted with grief. Coron couldn't bare to look.He was hyperventilating from crying, and when Coran tried to help him calm down, he flat out punched him in the face. Pidge had heard the screaming and woke up Shiro. They both ran into the infirmary, to see Keith on the floor , almost passed out from the effort of trying to save Lance. Coran had a bloody nose, that he was stumbling around to find a way to clog it. Just as Pidge ran over to Lance, he started panting, his race completely red. But Keith couldn´t see through the tears, and he couldn't hear through the ringing in his ears.Shiro held the red paladin,trying to talk to him, but he was thrashing around. His screams made Shiro wince, as he was horrified to Keith so distraught. At last he passed out in Shiro´s arms, just as Lance´s breathing became normal, and he drifted off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooooooo, don´t worry my buds, all my stories end up happy


	5. The Happy Ending I promised y´all

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> btw i´m not southern.

Keith woke up with a splitting headache, remembering the events of last night. It was around 2 pm when Shiro came in to check on him. Keith sat in silence, trying to block out whatever Shiro had to say. There was nothing he could say that would make things better.He was broken out of his misery when Shiro slapped him across the face, holding onto his shoulders  
¨Keith, Lance is fine, he started breathing once you had started to go into a panic attack.¨ Keith stared dumbfounded.  
¨He…..he's ok?¨ he asked, not believing his ears. Shiro nodded, letting Keith go. ¨Where is he??¨ Keith asked, clearing his throat, that was sore and scratchy from the screaming. Shiro ignored his question, and just kept talking to him.   
¨Look Keith, we don't know what is going on, but we think it's basically what you said with the diving board. The castle is trying to kill Lance. We don´t know why, but we promise we will keep him safe until we figure it out¨ Keith stared at him, trying to process what he just said. After a minute of silence, Shiro told him where Lance was, and Keith went off without a word. He was ok, Lance was ok. Keith repeated this in his head until he reached the room that Shiro had told him that Lance was in. Hunk was next to him, checking on him and keeping him company. Once Hunk noticed Keith, standing still in the doorway, he nudged Lance who seemed in just as much as a trance as Keith. Finally, Lance looked up and saw Keith. The moment Keith looked into those beautiful blue eyes, he ran over to Lance. Keith basically jumped into the hug, almost not believing it was real. He held on to Lance as tight as he could without hurting him.Lance returned the embrace, letting himself be held. This was all he needed to help the trauma he had been through in the past 2 weeks. He needed to be possessed, to feel that someone else was protecting him and that they would never let go.And Keith was just that. This time he didn't remember dying, all he remembered was the sound of Keith. He was crying and screaming harder than Lance had ever heard him. It was like everything inside him had shattered. Lance hated that he was the cause of Keith´s suffering. Keith finally let go, soaking in the moment and truly believing that he would be ok.  
¨Lance, I…...I…..I don´t know what to say.You were gone, and I wasn't getting you back. You promised, and I know it's not your fault but it still hurt. God that hurt so much, more than you could imagine.¨ Keith started crying , though not many tears fell, his eyes were so dry.Lance tried his best to comfort him  
¨hey, hey, it's ok, don´t cry. It hurts me when you cry.¨ Lance said, now holding Keith in his arms.Lance provided the comfort that Keith could not get from Shiro or anyone else. Keith took a moment to get his emotions together, so he wasn't flinging them around and imposing them on other people. His headache had subsided, and he was confronted by those blue eyes that never failed to make him stop and stare. Hesitantly, he leaned forward and silently asked Lance´s permission, before he kissed him, letting their souls intertwine , healing each other with the calming embrace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was fun guys, I´ll publish my stuff I have already written, I got 2 more just like this coming, and I should be writing more. Love as always-Laureliz


End file.
